Endorsements & Reviews

“The Halo and Noose should be seen as an exciting further step in the long process of re-connecting business life to the mainstream of human history, experience and potential.”Ralph Windle, founder/ director: The Creative Value Network

“This is the best book about leadership and business that I have seen in a long time. It is fresh, interesting, needed and written to reach out and touch the toughest part of each of us. This is not about story telling, but more importantly, about how we can all change our story and create a future distinct from the past. Read this book”.Peter Block author (Flawless Consulting) and consultant partner in Designed Learning, USA. Masters Degree in Industrial Administration (Yale)

“A great piece of work which stimulates one to look at life differently - very useful for consultants, trainers and coaches who can draw on the various aspects of storytelling in ways that traditional methods simply cannot.”Angelo Kehayas, CEO Profweb, Fellow Certified Management Consultant, BSc, and MBA

“What a brilliant read this was. The Halo and the Noose is a truly motivational and energizing read. The book inspires us to learn from individual life experiences, and organizations will undoubtedly achievebusiness success through developing their people in this way.”Stephenie Edwards, MA. MD of Customer 1st International ( UK )

5-star reviewA valuable resource for those interested in the processes of organizational change and how to effect it using the power of story. While understanding that businesses can be looked at through the lens of numbers and statistics, Williams and Haarhoff make a persuasive case that it is even more powerful to look at them through the lens of story. This lens focuses on the soul of a business and sees its connection to the larger mythic themes of which we are all a part. Those connections provide both information and energy for business transformation and ultimately affect whether the business flourishes.Drawing from a deep reservoir of stories from literature and folklore of global cultures, the authors tell these stories in workshops and in business consultations to expand listeners’ thinking about the business issues they are faced with. By engaging us as storytellers and listeners at the mythic, soul level, they stimulate change that otherwise might not happen. The book presents case studies in which the process of telling a story well and listening to a story well has helped people come up with creative and innovative approaches to business issues. "Stories raise awareness, stimulate thinking, facilitate leadership, offer flexibility and possibility, nurture and engage,” say the authors. One of their workshop participants said, “I see story as a honeycomb, a structure to hold the honey.” This beautifully written book takes us into a honeycomb of food for the soul—useful information and inspiring stories. I recommend it to readers who would like to expand their ways of looking at themselves and the organizations with which they are involved. Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD Clinical Psychologist and author of Change Your Story, Change Your Life

“There is a definite and growing appreciation of story telling as an effective management training technique. This book covers the ground beautifully”.Mike du Plessis, Head, Centre for Continuing Education, Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

“I can’t remember when last I was so impressed with something. Wow! This book needs to reach the USA and the mainstream of business and societal conversation there. I am SO excited about this publication and even more exited about having this kind of resource available………..”Louise Van Rhyn – BSc / MBA / DMAN (Doctorate in Organizational Change), MD of Syphonia, and lecturer at University of Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business.

“In our lifetimes we have learned literally hundreds, if not thousands of lessons through the stories that we hear. Many of the earliest nursery rhymes that we were brought up on carry powerful massages and‘learning’s’. Biblical parables and similar recounts form a common thread through virtually all ancient and contemporary religious and spiritual works, and there are few who would challenge the validity of the ethical, moral and wellbeing-related lessons inherent in these writings. The jokes that we chuckle about on a daily basis or even better, the recounts of the after dinner raconteur may well leave us with tears rolling down our cheeks or merely a comforting smile. Why? Perhaps because we recognized that in the story telling, we have learned one or more valuable lessons. In business, we revel in story-telling. The conference presentations most frequently ranked as ‘Exceptional’ tend to be well –presented case studies... Are these simply Business stories? We learn from them. And the lesson sticks!In ‘The Halo and The Noose,’ Graham Williams and Dorian Haarhoff have ‘legitimized’ the role that story telling can and should play in business today; from the boardroom to the shop floor”.Rod Jones, Group CEO of C3Africa, Customer Service and Call Centre Strategist and Consultant, Author, Trainer, Lecturer

“The stories in the Halo and the Noose enchant and educate, and will do so for many years whilst we remain in harness”David Taylor, Director of Companies and Management Mentor.

“I’ve used extracts from this book as a basis for corporate training - they make a great impact with a wide range of staff and situations”John Griffin, Business Consultant & Director, High Chem Industrials Africa, Nairobi.

“The authors fuse their creatively different but complementing skills and competencies from their experiences, in the corporate business and academic worlds to create this unique signature dish. It has all the taste, life-sustaining nutrients and stylish presentation that will leave you smiling long after you finish it. The stories told in this presentation are like the aroma of the dish-awakening the sense to our humanness and our soul’s quest to have another reference - a spiritual identity, beyond our capacity to define ourselves merely by what we earn. This book will remain in your memory and you will return to it as an appetizing staple on your menu”.Rev. Peter Fox, St Lukes Hospice Spiritual Counselor and Care Team Leader, BA (Hons), Dip Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

Although the title of this South African book says, ‘story telling and story listening in business life’, it is also aimed at individuals, as it is a good read that entertains, whilst informs - there is much that is soulful for the spiritual seeker. Essentially the book offers an innovative and gentle approach to help, guide and motivate an audience (through story telling) which includes techniques and practical applications. At a deeper level, I felt that the book shows an improved way of conducting business. The authors say the book will raise your story IQ and that the gap between being influential or ineffective, is a very small gap, yet the difference can be huge - like a halo that slips to become a noose.

“A great piece of work which stimulates one to look at life differently - very useful for consultants, trainers and coaches who can draw on the various aspects of storytelling.” Joel Ford, trainer and consultant.

REVIEWS“This book offers pure enjoyment of reading the numerous stories, and practical application for all who work with people – coaches, facilitators, OD practitioners, HR, managers and leaders, AND this is not an instruction book. It is something to dip into and become submerged, because reading the stories takes you places, stimulates the imagination. The learnings are not laboured – most times you need to develop your own conclusions, metaphors, meanings and interpretations”. - John Paisley, MD of the Coaching Centre

“The stories are delightful and I love the skilful way in which you explain and illustrate the relevance and connection of stories to every sphere of our short earth walk.....congratulations for a fine and profound gift that will I have no doubt, weave its magic with all those you are fortunate enough to read it”. - Bruce Copley, CEO of AAHA Learning International

“I was utterly captivated by The Halo and the Noose, and now regularly recommend it when I am facilitating my Train the Trainer & Presentation Skills courses. I am also experimenting with more use of stories in my training, and loving the fresh slant it brings to my education role (a real "VitB-Injection" after 20 years of doing what I do !)” - Roma Howard & Associates, Training & Development Practitioners, Leadership & Team Effectiveness

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